Cold Moon Rising
by ClassicCrime
Summary: Karin has always wanted to be a member of the Order of the White Lotus and in order to prove herself she must journey to Republic City and infiltrate the Equalist camp. She knows that failure could result in not only the endangerment of her own life, but also the loss of her bending. But, will she risk it all when she begins to fall for a certain earthbender? BolinOC
1. The Mission

**A/N**: First off I would like to thank limegreenwordmachine for editing this chapter. I don't think I would have had the confidence to post this story without her input. She is a wonderful beta. Second, as you well know, I do not own the world of Avatar nor do I own any of it's characters. However, any OC that is found within this story is of my own creation. That being said, I hope you enjoy the story!

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The Order of the White Lotus had been a secret organization up until the final days of the Hundred Year War. During the days leading up to Fire Lord Ozai's defeat, many prominent members in the bending and nonbending world became allies and proclaimed themselves to be members of the Order of the White Lotus. The most notable members at the time were Master Pakku of the Northern Water Tribe, Iroh, former crown Prince of the Fire Nation, Master Piandao, world renowned swordsman, Master Jeong Jeong, the first man to abandon the Fire Nation military and survive, and King Bumi, ruler of the city Omashu. With their help, the city of Ba Sing Se was saved from Fire Nation control.

After the war, Avatar Aang comissioned the members of the White Lotus to find the new Avatar after his death, provide protection, and see to his or her training. When the Order is not with the Avatar, they can be found searching the world for philosophy, beauty, and truth, or training new members for the next generation.

In the years since its conception, the Order of the White Lotus has never had a female member.

* * *

The council chamber of the Order of the White Lotus was full of chatter as the members deliberated the fate of one of their future acolytes.

Karin, a girl of seventeen, stood still as a statue in the center of the chamber. Her eyes moved from one councilman to the other, wishing she could speak her mind. Her eyes locked on her father as he pointed angrily at Grand Master Kuzon.

Ever since Karin was a little girl, she had dreamed of becoming a member of the famous Order of the White Lotus. Her grandfather had been a member during the Hundred Year War, and had risen to take Pakku's seat when he had passed. Karin's father had followed in his footsteps. She was determined to do the same.

"Silence!" A voice shouted. Grand Master Kuzon slammed his gavel on a wooden platform. The room gradually grew quiet, and everyone looked down on Karin. "Karin, please step outside while we finish deliberating. We will call you back inside shortly." He nodded before averting his eyes.

Karin tried to look dignified as she returned the nod and turned to walk out of the council chamber. The doors closed loudly behind her, and she finally relaxed her posture, shaking her head.

"Not going well?" Someone asked. Karin turned to find one of her best friends seated on a bench beside the doors.

"Of course not. Those old men don't think I'm good enough." Karin replied with a sigh before sitting beside Eri. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder in support.

"Don't worry. I'm sure they're just thinking up some way for you to prove yourself. They've never kicked anyone out of an Order meeting for no reason." He ruffled her hair and laughed as she raised her hands to save herself from the assault.

"Ah, but they think they have a reason. I'm a girl, and I am much too delicate to protect the Avatar. What crock." Though her voice showed defeat, Eri could see defiance shining in Karin's blue eyes, and knew that she wouldn't let this go without a fight.

They sat for a considerable amount of time before the doors to the council chamber opened and Karin's father stepped into the light of the hallway.

"Karin, they've come to a decision." She nodded at her father. Eri gripped her hand tightly before letting her walk back into the darkened room.

She took her place in the center of the room, where the tiles formed a giant white lotus, and stared up at the council members. The eyes of a dozen men stared down at her. All but her fathers' said one thing: they did not believe that she would succeed.

"Karin," Grand Master Kuzon began. "Though I have my personal doubts about you joining our sacred order, your lineage supports the assumption that you may be able to follow in the footsteps of your father and grandfather. However, we will be giving you a task to prove yourself. I must warn you that this task will not only test your physical prowess as a waterbender, but your mental and emotional strength."

Karin fought the urge to jump up and pump her fist in the air in victory. Even if Grand Master Kuzon believed this task would break her, Karin knew that she would be victorious! Her worth would finally be proven to all the men who doubted not only her strength, but the strength of all the women who attempted to join the Order of the White Lotus.

"Your task," Kuzon continued, "is to infiltrate the equalist camp in Republic City. You are to get as close to Amon as you dare so that you may be able to pass intel on to those in the Order that are currently protecting Avatar Korra."

"But aren't all the Equalists nonbenders?" Karin could not help but ask. She could feel her heart filling up with dread and she was no longer as confident as she had been a moment before.

"Indeed. This means that while in the city, you are forbidden to bend lest you give up your true identity to the Equalists. We have heard reports from our sentries posted in the city that the leader, Amon, possibly has the ability to strip a person of their bending. Therefore, failure of this mission could not only endanger your life, but could also result in the loss of your bending."

Grand Master Kuzon looked over his steepled fingers and scrutinized Karin. She couldn't believe this was the mission they were giving her. This could be considered a suicide mission - if she failed, it was not certain that she would ever return.

Karin looked at her father, whose head was in his hands. It was quite clear that he hadn't agreed to give her this mission, but in the Order of the White Lotus majority ruled, and Karin could see that most of the other gentlemen were looking at her in triumph. They believed that she would never risk her own life and her bending abilities to prove herself. They wanted her to refuse and walk out of this council chamber, never to darken their doorstep again.

Karin's expression of bewilderment morphed into a look of defiance as she scowled at all of the men staring down at her who thought she had been defeated. She wouldn't let them do this to her. She was not going to turn away from her dreams because a group of old men thought she was too weak and fragile to protect the Avatar.

She squared her shoulders and stood up straighter. "I accept this mission."

The men looked at her with surprise and her father raised his head. His expression showed that while he believed she could complete this mission, he didn't want to put his own daughter in the hands of the Equalists.

"Very well Karin. You will leave in two weeks time for Republic City. While you are here, you will join Hiro in the training yard every day to learn the basics of chi-blocking. Hopefully, with your previous knowledge of the human anatomy, it will come easier to you than his other students. You will also be required to attend meetings with me twice a week to build your alias. I will not have you fail because of an incomplete back story. You are dismissed." Grand Master Kuzon banged the gavel once more, and the men of the White Lotus stood and retreated through the back door.

_What have I gotten myself into_? Karin bowed her head and took a deep breath before turning around and leaving out of the same door through which she had entered.

* * *

Thank you all for reading the first chapter of my story! I don't know about you guys, but I am absolutely loving The Legend of Korra and it is so sad that the season finale is already here. I hope that as this story progresses you can read this in an attempt to fill the gap between season 1 and season 2 of the show. Of course reviews are always welcome and if you choose to add this story to your alert list I would be positively ecstatic. Hopefully the next chapter will be out by the weekend. Thanks for stopping by!  
-ClassicCrime


	2. Training

A/N: I hope all of you caught the season 1 finale of LOK, which was absolutely incredible, so many plot twists! I really can't wait for season 2 to come out, even though I know that will be the end of the series. I want to send a special thank you out to all those who have added this story to their 'favorites' and 'story alert' list, it truly means a lot to know that you guys like the story enough to want to keep track of my postings for it. Another thank you goes to my first two reviewers: Fnuggi and Avisax. The reviews were much appreciated and were a welcome sight in my inbox, so whether it be praise or criticism please do not be afraid to send in a review. I will hopefully have chapter 3 up by the end of this week. Enjoy!

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Karin leaned her elbows onto her knees and took a labored breath before attempting to wipe the sweat from her brow. Hiro stood before her, completely composed, as if the training had not affected him at all. Groups of other trainees continued to fight against one another, whether it was a battle between elements or strictly hand-to-hand combat. However, most of them were not using blocking chi.

Though chi-blocking wasn't traditionally utilized by the Order of the White Lotus in combat, they had Hiro on staff to teach the technique to willing participants and to document the various jabs and punches that could interfere with a person's bending or other body movements.

He was the only master of chi-blocking willing to teach students of the White Lotus; most of the others had opted to either remain secluded at home or to join the Equalists. Despite the emergence of chi-blocking as a valuable and popular fighting style, everyone knew that Hiro was still the best around, seeing as he was the grandson of the woman who had practically invented it.

"You're doing very well, Karin. Hopefully with this training you'll be able to rise within the Equalist camp quickly." Hiro grabbed the white towel that was always hanging from his back pocket and handed it to Karin.

"But I still couldn't hit you," she complained as she wiped more sweat from her face and straightened her back.

Karin tilted her head to look Hiro in the eye noting, not for the first time, how tall he was. Though Karin was an average height of 5'6", Hiro stood a foot taller. His entire body was lean muscle. Many of the men in the training yard might have seemed like they were more powerful because of their muscle mass, but Hiro's willowy figure hid a great deal of strength. He didn't even need to use his full strength to beat his opponents. Chi-blocking did not require hard hitting; a gentle jab could be devastating to the body if one executed it with precision.

"You've only been training for two weeks - I've been doing this practically my entire life. Don't be discouraged just because you can't get a hit in. You're supposed to be learning, not dominating. You will be right on par with the civilians in the Equalist movement." His reassurance didn't do anything to quell the fire within Karin's heart.

"How am I going to help Avatar Korra if I'm supposed to be a weak civilian?" Karin looked at the people bending around her and sighed. _Today will probably be the last day that I can use my bending in the open._

"Geez, Karin, you're not taking on the entire movement by yourself. Unless the word 'intel' has gained new meaning within the last couple of weeks." Eri's voice came from behind Karin and soon his arm was around her shoulder, and he was giving her a gentle shake.

Karin shrugged her shoulder, effectively removing Eri's arm, and gave him a pointed look. "I know that I won't be taking them on," she said, "but what happens if Amon decides to attack and I can't warn anyone in time? Am I supposed to just join in the fray and keep my cover?"

"You're thinking way too much about this." Eri shook his head and Karin threw up her hands angrily.

"I can't possibly be thinking too much about this. I could die there, Eri. It would be nice if you could take it a bit more seriously." Eri held up his hands in surrender.

"Of course I'm taking this seriously, but I'm not going to be a complete pessimist either. Come on, you've got training with Kuzon, I'll walk you there." Eri turned in the direction of Kuzon's apartments, waiting for Karin to take the lead.

"You should listen to him, Karin. Thinking too much about something can be detrimental. Overanalyzing can lead to hasty reactions when there's no real threat. I would advise you to work on that." Hiro and Karin bowed respectfully towards one another, and then Karin headed off to her training with Kuzon, Eri tight on her heels.

She knew that they were both right, but she couldn't help but think of all the things that could go wrong during this mission. The worst possible scenario would be her death, followed closely by Amon taking her bending.

But what if nothing bad actually happened? What if she succeeded?

"I'm sorry, Eri. I guess all this training's just gotten me worked up. It definitely doesn't help that every time I see Kuzon, he has to remind me that I might fail." Karin changed her stride a bit so that she could be closer to Eri, and he once again wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"I know, and I'm sorry if you think I'm not serious about this. I honestly don't want to think about the bad things that could happen to you. You're like a sister to me. I don't know what I'd do..." Eri's voice trailed to silence and Karin nodded in understanding. Both of her parents had been the same way once her mission had become public knowledge. She felt as if she had to walk on egg shells around them.

Part of Karin wanted to refuse the mission, but the other half of her refused to give up the challenge.

"Karin, you are late." Kuzon muttered from his bench on the veranda.

"I'll see you tonight for dinner." Eri gave her shoulder a squeeze before turning back for the training grounds.

"I apologize, sir. Training with Master Hiro went a little longer than expected." Kuzon waved his hand at her excuses and ushered her inside the house. Once inside they took cushions on opposite sides of the table and stared intently at one another.

Her training exercises with Kuzon were just as demanding as Hiro's, but they developed her mental preparation as opposed to the physical. At first he had simply given her techniques to construct her back story, the most valuable of which was that every good lie was partially truth. The sessions soon became an interrogation between the two, in which she simply had to convince him of who she was without any holes in her story.

While in Republic City she would be Karin, a native of the Southern Water Tribe who had traveled to Republic City when she was very young. Her father had been a waterbender, now a has-been competitor in the bending arena. Her mother had been a nonbender who had always been second to fame in the eyes of her father.

Eventually her father walked out on the family to be with another woman who was also a waterbender, leaving her and her mother to fend for themselves. It wasn't too long before she and her mother were out on the street.

One day her mother simply disappeared, and she was left on her own. Luckily, Karin had been old enough to work and had gotten a job at a restaurant that specialized in Water Tribe cuisine.

The truth was only a small piece of the story. In reality, she was a Southern Water Tribe native, and her family had moved to the Order of the White Lotus compound in Shu Jing village, which was the old home of Master Piandao. Her father was a waterbender and her mother was a nonbender, but her father loved her mother more than anything in the world.

Karin had needed a past conflict with a bender for her sudden interest in Equalism to stick, and living a life on the street would explain why no one would really know her.

"Your back story is solid. Now, measures will have to be taken in order to ensure that no one sees you arriving on a boat from the Fire Nation. Your accompanying members of the White Lotus will inform you of the plan once you are close enough to the shores of Republic City. You will be leaving at first light tomorrow." Kuzon stood, followed by Karin. They bowed before one another. Karin prayed silently that this training would be all she needed to convince Amon and his followers that she was one of them.

That night her parents held a feast in her honor. All of their friends attended. The festivities did nothing to stop the cold feeling that began to fill Karin, her parents, and Eri, but they refused to let what would happen in the morning ruin their last night together.

It was well past midnight when everyone was finally tucked away in bed. A few hours later, the clouds began to turn a purplish-pink, and Karin found herself at the docks, saying goodbye to her loved ones.

"Sweetheart, be careful." Karin's mother grabbed her tightly, her tears falling onto Karin's shoulder. It was almost impossible for Karin to compose herself and not cry, but she managed to keep her tears at bay.

"I will mom. You'll see, I'll be home before you know it." Karin replied, but her gut told her otherwise. She had a feeling that she wouldn't be seeing her parents for a long time.

The saddest goodbye was between her and Eri. Throughout all of her exchanges with the others, he had kept his eyes averted, and even while she stood in front of him it took a considerable amount of time for him to raise his eyes to meet hers. When they finally did she could see that they were also shining with unshed tears. She knew that those tears would never fall, just as hers had not, but it was the knowledge of those tears that gripped her heart tightly and refused to let go.

She threw herself into his arms and they hugged each other tightly. She could barely breathe, but she refused to let go.

Eri was her dearest friend and confidant. They had been together for so long that she could not remember a time when they were not friends. He had saved her from the bullies in the training yard when she was younger, and when they were older, she had helped him when he had trouble with his girlfriend from the neighboring village. They had always been there for one another. Karin didn't know what she would do once she was thrust into Republic City on her own.

"You better not get killed." He told her as he backed away to look her in the eye. Gold met blue and she nodded, still straining to hold in her tears.

"Me? Get killed? Please, I'll kick everyone's butt and be home within the month." Karin joked, her voice cracking slightly. They smiled at each other and hugged briefly for one last time.

"Karin? It's time to go." One of the White Lotus members accompanying her grabbed her bag from the pier and headed up the ramp and into the boat.

Karin nodded determinedly and made her way up the ramp behind the man.

Once she was onboard, the ramp was pulled onto the deck and the boat began to push away from the pier.

She looked down at her family and saw her mother crying into her father's chest. Eri stood tall, hands behind his back, eyes trained forward. When he caught her looking, his position relaxed a bit and he waved one last time.

It wasn't long before Karin could no longer make out the features of her loved ones, and soon she could no longer see them or the pier that they had stood on.

Karin was finally on her way to proving herself to the Order of the White Lotus, but she had never expected how much it would hurt.

With a heavy heart, Karin turned away from the place she had always known and looked over the expanse of the ocean to her future.


	3. Republic City

**A/N: **First off, I would like to mention that Nickelodeon has contracted the LOK team for an extra 26 episodes to the series, which is super exciting. Also, apparently the season finale wasn't really the season finale, rather a "book finale." They consider 'Book 1: Air' and the next book to be in the same season, season 2 will be split up in a similar fashion. Second, I would like to thank 'sunflower13' for reviewing the second chapter. As I've said before, reviews are always welcome whether they are criticism or praise so feel free to write one. I would like to apologize for the wait on this chapter and hopefully there will be less of a gap between this and chapter 4. Enjoy!

**7-20-12 Update**: So I am currently rewatching LOK and realized that the restaurant being used as Karin's cover had a name after all. The only change made to the story was to replace the name that had originally been written with the correct one.

* * *

"You have got to be kidding." Karin narrowed her eyes at the White Lotus sentry before bringing them back to the wooden barrel. The man shook his head with a hint of a smile on his lips.

_Of course he thinks this is funny. He isn't the one that has to sit in a barrel for hours. _Karin thought to herself.

According to the sentry, the plan to get Karin into Republic City without being seen was to hide her in an inconspicuous wooden barrel that would be delivered to 'Narook's Seaweed Noodlery' where she would be working while undercover.

The problem was that the restaurant was deep in the heart of Republic City and there was a potentiality that she would be cramped in that barrel for over an hour.

Karin looked at the barrel one more time, wondering if she could even fit herself inside.

"Karin, there isn't any other option to get you into the city. This is the plan that Master Kuzon approved, and we have to follow orders." The sentry tried to avoid her angry glare.

"Of course he approved of this plan." She shook her head slowly. _That man lives just to make my life miserable._ "I don't even see how it makes any sense. You don't usually see goods off of a Fire Nation ship being sent to a restaurant that specializes in Water Tribe cuisine."

"I know that it sounds unlikely, but you know as well as I do that the journey from the north and south poles is quite long, so Water Tribe restaurants in Republic City take goods from all other nations as substitutes for the ingredients of the original recipes." The sentry began tapping his index finger on his chin and tilted his head slightly to the side. "Actually I heard that ocean kumquats taste just like sea prunes if you stew them correctly."

Karin's face twisted with disgust. Sea prunes had never been a favorite dish of hers. Unfortunately, they were one of her father's favorites. Whenever her mother could get her hands on the proper ingredients, she would make a big helping of them for the family.

"If that is all, I need to attend to some preparations before we reach Republic City." The sentry began to turn towards the stairs leading to the upper decks.

"How long before we reach the shore?" Karin asked, crossing her arms in front of her chest as she scrutinized the size of the barrel once more.

"Last time I checked, the estimated time of arrival was in two hours. We need to have you situated in the barrel before we dock. I suggest you get some food and fresh air before then. I don't know how long the journey to Narook's will take." With that said, the man turned and left Karin on her own.

Karin sighed and shook her head before following the sentry to the upper decks. _I can't believe that I only have two hours before everything that I am will be forced to change,_she thought to herself.

She moved soundlessly to the stern of the ship and looked out over the peaceful ocean. The skies had blessed the crew with a steady wind to the east during their entire journey, making it much quicker than it should have been. No storms had intervened during their travels and the ocean had remained relatively calm.

Karin hoped that it was a sign from the ocean and moon spirits, letting her know that they were watching out for her.

Her eyes were trained on the white film that surfaced due to the propellers' rotation. Her arms rose languidly, bending the water beneath her. A thin stream of water rose from the ocean and up to the ship's railing.

Karin closed her eyes as she moved the water around her. She could feel the connection between her body and the element, her chi tied to it. She always felt more alive when she was bending and couldn't believe that in two hours she would no longer be allowed to feel that connection.

_It's not for forever_, she told herself. She opened her eyes as her body moved into a simple stance. She quickly performed a flawless water whip before moving on to more advanced stances.

While it had taken a while for Karin to perfect her waterbending form, her father had always known that she would have a strong bending ability. When she had first begun her training Master Hikaru let her know that just because she was the only girl in the White Lotus compound did not mean that he would treat her gently. He had trained her hard, picking at her even for the smallest mistakes, but his relentless training had made her strive even harder.

She would wake at dawn and practice in the training yard and was always the first at lessons. Eventually, she was able to surpass all of the boys in her age class, but she was not yet a master of her craft.

Karin spent her last two hours on the ship bending the water that was all around her. Too soon the White Lotus sentry that had spoken to her of the plan earlier came to the stern of the ship to let her know that it was almost time. She could barely recognize him out of his White Lotus uniform, but she could understand that it was prudent that no one knew who he was while he was transporting her.

She turned her eyes from the path behind her and towards the prow of the ship and she could see the shoreline of Republic City coming into view.

The two most prominent features at this distance were a tall statue of a man standing on a large stone and a small island close by that contained a large building.

The White Lotus sentry stared at the buildings and explained to her what they were. "That statue to the left is of Avatar Aang, and to the right is Air Temple Island. That is where Tenzin, his family, and Avatar Korra live and where most of the White Lotus members on this ship will be stationed during your mission."

Karin nodded, but felt a knot forming in her stomach at the prospect of being so far away from her allies during her mission. "Good to know that you guys are so close by." Her tone was laced with sarcasm and she could see the sentry shaking his head at her response.

"Don't worry. There are undercover agents stationed throughout the city. All you need to do is find the doors with a white lotus tile embedded in the framework. Sometimes you have to feel around for it though. Some people think it's smarter to have the lotus hidden since the order isn't so secret anymore." Karin nodded and felt the knot in her stomach ease a bit, but it refused to go away and tensed periodically as Republic City came closer into view.

"I guess I should go get in my barrel now." Karin said with a sigh and the sentry actually let out a soft chuckle before following her below deck.

Once there, Karin pulled her long and dark brown hair out of its customary side braid and piled it into a bun close to the crown of her head. The last thing she wanted during this journey was to have her hair surrounding her face. She doubted that her time in the barrel was going to be cool and refreshing and the last thing she wanted was to have one more thing to make her sweat during the journey.

"Wait, what about my things?" She asked the sentry with sudden realization.

"Don't worry, they're stowed in another barrel heading to the restaurant." He reassured her. "By the way, in case we run into each other in the streets during your mission, my name is Nori."

Karin laughed despite her nerves. "Good to know. Nice to finally know your name. I've kind of just been thinking of you as that sentry with the mustache."

The two shared a quick laugh before the boat jerked, signaling that the boat had finally reached the docks. Karin quickly climbed into the barrel and Nori put the top into place before hammering it down. The last thing he made sure to do was remove the cork at the top so that Karin could breathe.

"I may not see you for some time after this. Good luck on your mission. I just want to let you know that we're all rooting for you." Nori whispered to Karin.

"Thanks. That means a lot." She whispered back and soon he was loading her onto a cart to haul onto the upper decks.

The cart moved slowly off of the ship and Karin could hear the bustle of people all around her as they moved off of the docks and to a shipping car located at the end of the pier. Once there, all of the barrels were placed in the back of the car.

She could hear Nori's breath straining a bit as he lifted her into the car and for a brief moment her mind strayed away from the mission. _I don't weigh that much,_she thought to herself as the bottom of her barrel made contact with the floorboards of the car's trunk.

The ride from the docks to Narook's Seaweed Noodlery took about half an hour and would have taken even longer if the driver hadn't known shortcuts to bypass the traffic that was congesting the streets of Republic City.

The noises of the city were muffled by the sound of the car's engine and the barrel, but Karin could still hear salesmen shouting out their wares, brief scuffles on the streets, and the voice of a protestor asking for equality in Republic City.

When the car finally made it to Narook's, Karin's barrel was picked up once again and placed on a cart.

Nori knocked on the door three times and Karin could hear a plank of wood sliding out of place and then a man's voice.

"Who knocks at the garden gate?" The man asked.

"One who has eaten the fruit and tasted its mysteries." Nori replied. This question was standard in the Order of the White Lotus to identify fellow members.

The piece of wood slid back into place and the door opened. Once the cart was inside and the door was closed, Nori pried the top of the barrel off and Karin was able to climb out. She could feel a crick in her neck, and her muscles were all cramped from sitting in an enclosed space for such a long time. She stretched all of her muscles in turn and took a look at her surroundings.

From the noise coming from the other room, she could tell that she was in the back room of the restaurant. They were surrounded by stacked boxes, drying fruits and vegetables, and barrels like the one she had just crawled out of.

There were three people in the room besides her and Nori. One of them was an older White Lotus sentry that had been on the boat during their journey from Shu Jing village. The other two clearly worked at Narook's.

The first was a younger man around Karin's age with a small and lithe frame. She could tell that there were sinewy muscles sneaking through his arms, probably from working in the eatery.

The second was an older woman with a hunched back and gray hair that was pulled back into a severe bun. Though Karin noticed many laugh lines in the woman's face, she could also tell from her expression that she was a stern woman. Karin assumed that she was the owner of the restaurant.

While Karin surveyed her surroundings, Nori and the older gentleman spoke briefly with the two restaurant employees. Soon Nori was leaving out of the back door. As he shut the door behind him, he gave Karin a reassuring smile.

She smiled back before turning to introduce herself to Narook's workers. Her smile quickly disappeared as she noticed the stern look that the old woman was giving her.

Karin had always thought that working undercover at the restaurant would be the easiest part of the mission, but the look on the old woman's face told her that the workers of Narook's were going to put her through hell before her real mission would begin.


	4. Infiltration

**A/N:** First off, I would like to apologize for the long wait. The mailing system was a bit wacky this week and it took a bit longer than usual to get the revised version. Next, I would like to thank all of those that have added this story to their alert or favorites list and all those who have reviewed the chapters. It is always nice to know that my readers like the story and that some (like Bellum Letale) think that I am a "wonderful writer." It is encouragement like this that has continued to give me the confidence to write this story. And now, on to Chapter 4!

* * *

The constant chatter of the patrons at 'Narook's Seaweed Noodlery' grew louder than ever as some regulars came in after the day's pro-bending match between the Makapu Moose Lions and the Capital City Catgators.

Karin had only a moment to catch her breath before Haku, the chef of Narook's, sent plates through the window that separated the restaurant area with the kitchen. Karin lifted the steaming plates of seaweed noodles, sea prunes, and sea squid soup onto her tray and made her way to the back of the restaurant, where a family of four sat in heated conversation.

There were two other waiters besides Karin working at the restaurant. The boy that she had met the first day she had arrived was one of them, and his name was Koji. The other was the girl currently walking through the thrall of newly arrived customers; her name was Chihiro.

From Karin's position in the back of the restaurant, she could tell that Chihiro was going to need back up. She quickly placed the meals onto her current table and told them to enjoy their meal before heading to the front of the restaurant.

"How many parties?" Karin asked sidling up next to Chihiro. She could see the younger girl breathe a sigh of relief.

"Looks like we have Tahno with his team and a handful of admirers. I'll take them to the back booth. After them, we have two more. One is a family of three and the other is a party of two, and from what I can tell we only have a table for two left." Karin nodded her head during the explanation and looked at all the guests in turn.

"Alright, I'll let the family know and I'll seat the party of two. Good luck with Tahno - I heard he can get a little handsy with waitresses," said Karin. Chihiro sent a glare in the direction of Tahno, the waterbender for the reigning champion team in the pro-bending arena.

"Trust me, he knows better than to mess with me." Chihiro replied with a sly smile. "Right this way," she said to Tahno. "We have your usual booth all set up."

The large party followed Chihiro. Tahno leered at Karin as he walked by.

Even though Karin had only been in Republic City for a week, she'd had the misfortune of making Tahno's acquaintance three nights out of the seven. It seemed that this was one of the young man's regular hangouts, and he brought many fan girls along with him every time. However, despite the number of girls that always accompanied him, Tahno always found time to make passes at Karin and Chihiro. Karin assumed he saw it as good sport.

She shook her head and turned towards the two other parties waiting to be seated. She could tell by the look on the parents in the party of three that they had already deduced that they would have to either wait a while or find somewhere else to go. Karin made sure to address them first, letting them know that they were welcome to wait, but that it might be quite some time. They opted to eat at a restaurant a bit further down the street.

Karin then turned to the group of two young men. One was taller than the other with black hair and golden eyes. His appearance hinted at him being a firebender, but Karin didn't like to assume. He had a long, ratty red scarf wrapped loosely around his neck, and his thumbs were hooked into the pockets of his pants.

The other young man was shorter and had a slightly stockier build, but Karin could tell that it was mostly muscle. He also had black hair, but unlike the other boy's, his eyes were shining green. He wore Earth Kingdom colors. While his companion was the epitome of nonchalance, this man was practically giddy. She could tell that the two were very different.

"Gentlemen, you can follow me," Karin said brusquely as she grabbed two menus.

"That's not necessary," The taller of the two replied, motioning at the menus.

"Yeah, we're regulars here." The green-eyed one said. Karin shrugged her shoulders before turning and taking them to their table.

"What can I get you guys?" She questioned as the two sat down.

"When did you start working here? Mako and I come here all the time and I've never seen you." The shorter man asked, gazing at her with wide and interested eyes.

"Started about a week ago. Used to work at the Ocean and Moon Eatery," Karin replied, pulling up her cover story to tell regulars at Narook's. It had come up on her first day working, when Tahno had shown up. Thankfully, Narook's wife Yuka had thought ahead and provided the other Water Tribe restaurant as the story of her previous job. It was on the edge of the Republic City slums and was popular with seedy characters within the city who needed to do business without being seen. Not many people frequented the Ocean and Moon Eatery, which made it the easiest cover story to present to those who frequented Narook's.

"I'll have a bowl of seven flavor soup and seaweed noodles." The other man, Mako, requested before slouching back slightly in his chair. She quickly wrote down his order on her pad of paper then looked up once again at the shorter man.

"Don't mind Mako, he's like that with everyone," he said, looking over at the other man with narrowed eyes."I'm his brother, Bolin. Who are you?"

"It's nice to meet you both. I'm Karin. Is there something I can get for you, Bolin?" She asked, wishing to return to business. She had met some chatty people during her time in Republic City, but no one had taken such an interest in her so quickly and enthusiastically. She liked it better when people just saw her as her job presented her. That way she wouldn't make any ties during her mission.

"Yeah, I'll have two bowls of seaweed noodles." He placed his elbows on the table and continued to stare at her with apparent fascination. It started to make Karin a bit uncomfortable.

"I'll be right back with your seaweed bread." Karin said quickly before turning to the kitchen.

The night continued, and the man named Bolin continued to ask her questions when she made the couple of casual but mandatory checks to ensure that everything was to their liking.

Right as the brothers were about to leave, Tahno rose out of his booth and sauntered over, looking smug. When he reached the table where Bolin and Mako were seated, he threw an arm around her shoulder and placed his face uncomfortably close to hers.

"Well if it isn't the Fire Ferrets, come to celebrate their entry into the pro-bending tournament. For some reason I figured you two would be upset, seeing as everyone knows you won't be able to get the money to play. I suppose better luck next year, right?" Karin shrugged angrily, effectively removing his arm from around her and trying to avoid scowling openly. She knew that if she offended a customer, Yuka would have her hide, even if it was in response to mild sexual harassment.

"Our placement in the tournament is none of your business, Tahno." Mako replied, and though he seemed calm, cool, and collected on the outside, she could tell that he was growing angry.

Bolin sat slack jawed across from his brother, staring between Tahno and Karin, his eyes questioning. Tahno noticed the puzzled look and exploited it, giving Bolin a faux shy smile. "Sorry Bolin, but this delicate little flower is all mine." He kissed her cheek, which was burning red with anger. "Just like the pro-bending championship."

Without even thinking, she shoved Tahno sidelong into the table beside them, which was thankfully empty. He toppled over, taking the table with him, and Bolin broke into laughter as Tahno gathered himself up.

"Call me a delicate flower again, I dare you." Karin challenged, her arms crossing over her chest.

Tahno was about to retort when Narook came from the back room. Tahno immediately shut his mouth and brushed himself off.

"Touch one of my waitresses again, Tahno, and you'll get more than a shove." Tahno didn't have to think twice before signaling his posse and swaggering out of the restaurant, even leaving a generous tip for Chihiro.

As Karin was picking up the table, Koji came in through the back door, ready to take her spot on the floor. She straightened up and nodded at him in a silent thank you.

"Sorry about Tahno." She said to Mako and Bolin as they placed their money on the table. "He's a nice piece of work."

"Trust me, we know." Mako replied with more warmth in his voice than when he had arrived. "Come on bro, we've got practice."

Bolin came over quickly and picked up the remaining chair for her. "Thank you." Karin said with a smile. He smiled back, running a hand through the hair at the back of his neck.

"Not a problem. I'll see you around Karin." He replied as he headed towards the door. He turned back one more time and waved before exiting the restaurant.

"Alright Karin, you can go on and head home. You've had enough excitement for today." Narook held out a hand, waiting to take her apron. She gave it over gladly.

Instead of heading up to her apartment above the restaurant, Karin grabbed a jacket from the backroom and headed into the busy streets with one destination in mind. Tonight would be her first attempt to infiltrate the Equalists.

Karin walked apprehensively through the streets of the Dragon Flats borough, knowing full well that the area was triad territory. A nugget of fear was placed solidly within her heart as she quickened her pace slightly, wishing that the bookstore would come into sight.

She had learned from a protestor in the park that people who were true to the Equalist cause could find brothers and sisters within Republic City. With a bit of coaxing Karin was able to learn that there were chi-blocking training camps within the Dragon Flats borough and resolved to come through after her shift during the week since she had arrived.

She had checked many blocks of the area before finally finding the place that she searched for.

A bookstore at the corner of a crossroad had a basement level where Equalists trained. The windows had been boarded up with new wood, which was Karin's first tip. However, they had been poorly placed and she was able to see men and woman inside wearing face masks that covered below their eyes. They were practicing on each other and on wooden dummies and against the wall was a giant poster of the Equalist leader, Amon.

Now that she knew the location, Karin needed to get inside. If she was able to prove herself a valuable asset to the Equalists as a fighter, she knew she would be able to find out more useful information to aid the White Lotus members hidden throughout the city.

She held back for a moment at the corner across from the bookstore, making sure to keep out of the light as a young woman entered the store.

Quickly and quietly, Karin followed behind the woman and stopped at the edge of an open window.

"May I help you?" The shop owner asked the woman in a deep monotone.

"I am here to seek relief." The woman replied. As if she had spoken a special phrase, a bookshelf in the corner slowly pushed inwards and then to the side, revealing a set of stairs that led to the basement below.

"May you find freedom, my sister." He replied with a bow.

"And you, my brother." She bowed as well before heading downstairs to train.

Karin was thankful that she had waited for the girl to pass through first. She had not been aware that a secret phrase was required to enter the training grounds, though she couldn't be surprised. Secret organizations were secret for a reason. She should have been used to it because she was a White Lotus member – sort of.

Karin shook her head quickly, willing herself to move. She mentally tried to banish her fear and apprehension as she heard the secret door snap back into place. She counted to 100 before entering the book shop.

"May I help you?" He asked Karin.

"I am here to seek relief," she replied smoothly, as the woman before her had.

The man gave her a small smile. "May you find freedom, my sister."

"And you, my brother." The door opened slowly and Karin headed downstairs to the training room.


	5. The Equalists

**A/N:**First off, I would like to thank all of those people that have taken the time to read this story and add it to their alert and/or favorites list. It means a lot to me to know that so many people like this story. Second, I want to thank sunflower13 and epikcheese for reviewing chapter 4, it is always nice to look in my inbox and find kind words from my readers. I don't know how quickly the chapters will be coming out after this one because I will be returning to school this weekend and I don't know how busy I am going to get. Also, there is a new character being introduced in this chapter that has a name that may be a bit hard to pronouce: Ruijia sounds like ray-ja with a soft j. Now, here is chapter 5. Enjoy!

* * *

As Karin entered the basement training ground, she began to feel sick to her stomach. Her heart was beating so hard that she believed the person nearest her could probably hear it. Even though the nerves were wreaking havoc on her insides, her expression remained calm and she mentally willed herself to keep her body language under her control.

No one looked up from their practice exercises as she walked further into the room. The only person to recognize her was a man wearing a dark green shirt and pant set with red boots and belt. Karin knew from reports that the White Lotus had given her that this individual was most likely a grunt in the Equalist camp.

The man held a face mask in his right hand and thoughtfully stroked the stubble around his chin as he surveyed her. She bowed respectfully to the man, but kept her eyes on his. He smiled slightly and motioned for her to rise.

"That's not necessary." He said to her as she rose back to her full height. She had to look up slightly to look him in the eyes. She silently cursed herself for being so short. She did not like having to look up at other people just to have a simple conversation.

"Good evening, Brother." Karin responded, testing the waters. His eyes twinkled with a bit of amusement.

"And to you, my sister, though I must admit I do not recall seeing you here before." He placed his hands on his hips and puffed his chest out in an effort to seem more intimidating.

"I apologize for not introducing myself formally. I am Karin. This is my first time at the training grounds." She kept herself from shaking her head at his attempt to seem more manly. _No matter where I go or who it is, someone's always going to try and impress the new girl._

"Karin, huh? It is good to have you among us. I am Chen, the trainer at this location. May I ask how you came to find us?" Karin could feel her heart dropping a little bit. She had not thought of an excuse to explain how she had come to find the place.

"A man in the park mentioned that people who looked for equality in the city could find like-minded people if they looked hard enough. Forgive my saying so, but it isn't very hard to follow someone to this place when they are so obviously trying to avoid the attention of others." She held her breath, hoping that her gut instinct would pay off.

Chen scowled briefly, but soon nodded at her. "You are obviously skilled at tracking; perhaps you could be more useful to us than some of your brothers and sisters."

Karin sighed with relief, but placed a sly smile upon her lips. "Perhaps."

"Do you have any experience with chi-blocking?" He asked and she nodded slightly.

"I know the basics and have studied some of the human anatomy. Though, I must admit that I have never fought against another person. I merely practice on a wooden dummy, much like those that you have here." She gestured around the training room, and noticed that many of the people now had their eyes set on her and Chen, though most of their attention still remained on their exercises.

"Then I must test your skill, if you accept the challenge?" He began to pull a set of gloves from one of his back pockets and pulled them slowly onto his calloused hands.

Karin began to panic slightly. She knew that Hiro had taught her skill enough to defend herself, but would she be able to impress this man?

"If it's necessary. May I have some time to stretch?" She replied

"I doubt you would have time to stretch before facing a bender." He pulled the cap over his head and then came at her with a speed that she wasn't quite expecting.

His right fist struck out in an attempt to strike the pressure point on her shoulder. Karin quickly ducked and rolled to her right in an attempt to get away from the wall and into the center of the room.

All of the others stopped their exercises, backing away to ring around the training mat.

She didn't have much time to think as Chen came at her again, this time going towards her left arm.

She ducked under his arm and jabbed at the pressure point at his wrist, elbow, and the thick muscle of his bicep. She darted away quickly to get out of his reach and watched with satisfaction as his right arm fell limp to his side. She couldn't see his face with the mask on, but she could hear a growl of rage as Chen lunged to strike her.

His emotions were making him sloppy, and Karin knew from years of sparring matches that there was no way that Chen could win if he allowed his emotions to get the better of him. She watched his body movements as she darted away, keeping a strong defense rather than attacking. He began to get more frustrated as the number of misses increased. Finally, fed up with her defensive strategy, he kicked out towards her solar plexus in an attempt to get her onto the ground.

Again, Karin ducked and struck at the pressure points of his leg that was still planted firmly on the ground. Chen didn't even get the time to place his elevated leg back to the floor. He fell onto his back with a soft thump and she could hear a whoosh as the wind was knocked out of him.

She room remained completely silent as Karin wiped the sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand. Chen leaned up onto one of his elbows, and ripped his mask off with the other hand. He attempted to look at her with respect because as a trainer that was testing a student that is what was expected from him. However, Karin could tell underneath that exterior that he was angered by her skill and even angrier that his students had seen him beaten by a newcomer - and a little girl at that.

Slowly a clapping sound began to emerge from behind Karin and she turned to see a group of Equalists entering the room from a dark tunnel along the same wall as the door into the training room from the bookstore.

The man in front was clearly higher up in the organization than the two behind him. He wore the same uniform, but his mask did not cover his entire face. It reached down over his eyes but stopped at his nose. His long mustache was exposed, his eyes shown bright through his yellow goggles, and she could see two metals rods sticking up from behind his back. She noticed that the people around her began to bow in respect to this man.

The two individuals behind him looked similar to Chen, but with their masks on she was unable to see their faces.

"Chen, you have done very well with this pupil." The man with the mustache spoke with a deep gravelly voice, gesturing towards Karin.

Chen pulled himself up quickly and smiled at the older man. "Thank you, Lieutenant. It is always nice to hear such praise from a man like yourself."

Karin fought the urge to roll her eyes at Chen for taking the credit of training her when they hadn't even met before today.

"I hope to see her fight again next week with the others. We could use all those with sufficient ability out in the field." The man made a signal and the group of three turned around and headed back into the dark tunnel.

"Of course sir. I will have them all prepared." Chen replied.

Once they were out of sight, Chen narrowed his eyes as he looked around the room at his trainees. "What are you all staring at? Get back to training!" He turned to Karin and tried to smile at her. "It seems you are worthy of training here. You may either find a wooden dummy or grab a sparing parter." He turned away from her, pulling off his gloves angrily as he went to instruct a young woman on the opposite side of the room.

Karin opted to head to a wooden dummy and began to punch and jab at the bullseyes that marked the pressure points.

"You are a wonderful fighter." The woman beside her commented, her soft voice almost lost in the noise of the training room.

Karin looked beside her and saw a young woman a bit older than her staring intently at her training dummy and hitting the pressure points half-heartedly. She was shorter than her, perhaps five foot two, and she'd had her black hair cropped just above her shoulders. She quickly met Karin's eyes, and Karin noted that they were dark grey.

"Thank you." Karin replied softly, returning to her practice dummy.

She remained at the training center until around midnight, and by the time she left most of the room was empty. Chen watched her as she left, scowling to himself as he thought about their fight. He had never been beaten by anyone in his "house," and was determined to never let it happen again.

The walk back to Narook's was uneventful, though Karin did see a few shady characters in the dark alleyways, but no one bothered her.

Once she walked into her room, she made sure to grab her journal and document the evening. Then she grabbed a file from under her bed and flipped through the papers in an attempt to find the Lieutenant within the reports.

She discovered that he was Amon's right-hand man. He was an important, when regarding who was prosperous and respected within the Equalist camp.

"Good thing he's seen me fight, then," Karin muttered to herself as she returned the file to its hiding place.

Karin continued to work during the days at Narook's, and headed to the Dragon Flats borough for her training at night.

She grew closer to the girl who'd spoken to her that first night and discovered that her name was Ruijia, and that she wasn't as enthusiastic an Equalist as those around her. She had only joined because her boyfriend had become a very vocal supporter within the last few months.

Chen constantly came over to correct Karin in front of the others in an attempt to fix his bruised ego. He assumed that the loss had damaged the respect his students had for him, and he blamed Karin for the doubts about his leadership.

She was told by the others that she was sure to move up quickly within the camp and that she would get her first chance this coming week. All those at the training camps with enough promise would be asked to join them for a rally that was coming up, and the rumor was that Amon would actually be there. They all kept calling it 'The Revelation'. Throughout the weeks, she began to see a change among the nonbenders within Republic City.

The man in the park began to hand out flyers for the rally. Equalist uniforms began to be shipped into all the training camps.

Finally the day came where the Lieutenant returned to have the students fight against one another for a spot in the security team for the rally. He picked three individuals from the Dragon Flats borough camp. Karin was one of them.

"You and your brothers and sisters will provide surveillance around the building to ensure that no benders enter this rally. Should anything happen, you will be on the ground ready to respond to the threat. Understood?" Lieutenant asked, crossing his hands behind his back.

"Yes sir," they responded together. Karin fought the need to look at the two men beside her.

"I will see you all tomorrow night, then. You are dismissed." He headed back to the dark tunnel, heading for the next camp.

Karin took a deep breath and headed back to Narook's once more, hoping that nothing would go wrong at the rally the next night. She didn't know how she would react once faced with a fight against a fellow bender.


	6. The Revelation

**A/N:** First off I would like to say thank you to all of those that have reviewed, favorited, or added this story to their alert list. As of today 1,051 people have read this story and I am so thankful to each and every one of you whether you like the story, love it, or hate it. Next, I want to apologize for the long wait between chapters. I have been back in school since the beginning of September and it has been really hard for me to find a chance to write the chapters. Lastly, I would like to point out as a disclaimer that I do not own any of the scenes from "The Legend of Korra" season one episode three, any dialogue from that episode belongs to The Legend of Korra creators. Now, enjoy chapter 6 and remember that all reviews are welcome whether they are praise or criticism.

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The sun slowly dipped below the horizon, and the moon rose to take its place. Karin stuck her hands in her pockets as she made her way back to Narook's from the Dragon Flats borough. She could hear the din coming from the restaurant as she approached and was suddenly grateful that she didn't have to work the night shifts.

As she rounded the corner, a big mass of white fur bounded into her, nearly knocking her over. She propped herself against the shop so that she wouldn't fall to the sidewalk, and looked up at the two figures seated atop what appeared to be a polar-bear-dog.

"Mako?" Karin asked as she made out the figure seated behind the young woman in front. He slid off the side of the furry creature and came over to make sure she was ok.

"Sorry about that. Naga isn't exactly the most graceful creature." The animal, Naga, drooped her head as if she were embarassed, almost like she could understand what her rider was saying.

The young woman braced herself before sliding off of Naga's back and approaching Karin.

"I'm Korra." The young woman said, thrusting out a toned arm for Karin to shake. When Karin reached her hand out to grasp the other woman's she could feel the strength in the grip and tried to give back the same amount of pressure.

"I'm Karin." She replied as she released Korra's hand and took a step backwards.

Though Karin was complete calm on the outside, her nerves on the inside were on high alert. Part of her was so excited to actually meet the Avatar that she could barely contain it. Her face was trying to contort itself into a smile, her heart was beating faster, and her palms began to sweat.

However, the other part of her fretted about the possibility of being found out. She was extremely aware of the Equalist uniform weighing down her knapsack. She grabbed the shoulder strap and instinctively drew the bag closer to her.

"It's nice to meet you." Karin continued before catching Mako's worried expression and then she realized what was missing. "Where is Bolin? Usually you two aren't very far apart."

"I actually came around to ask if you or anyone at Narook's had seem him today. When I got back home he wasn't there." He rubbed a hand against the back of his neck as he looked hopefully at her.

"As far as I know he hasn't been here, but I haven't been at the restaurant for a while. Did you ask Koji and Chihiro?" Karin asked, mentioning the other two servers at Narook's. She could see Mako's shoulders droop in disappointment, and Korra's body tensed. Obviously what Karin said had not been what they were hoping for.

"Yeah, I just got back from talking to them, they haven't seen him either." Korra grabbed Mako's shoulder and patted Naga on the head.

"Come on Mako, we're wasting time." She lifted her gaze to give Karin a small smile. "If you see him, tell him we were looking."

"Of course." Karin replied and watched as they climbed back onto Naga's back.

"See you around, Karin." Mako waved as they bounded down the street and Karin continued to Narook's and prayed for a good night's rest before tomorrow's rally.

The next day seemed to pass by in slow motion for Karin. When she wasn't out serving food, she was in the back room pacing frantically, her mind racing.

_What if something goes wrong? What if they find out that I'm a water bender? What if I get arrested by the police? _All of these thoughts flashed through her mind until her nerves were so frayed that it felt as if she were walking through a daydream.

"Karin, are you okay?" Chihiro asked once, after she had come to the back to get some ingredients for the kitchen.

"Oh, I'm fine." Karin reassured her, but she could tell that Chihiro wasn't fooled.

_What is wrong with me? _Karin asked herself, mentally slapping some sense into herself. _Back at home I was praised for never letting my emotions show. Now look at me, fretting over every little thing just like my Gran._

After that, Karin made it a point to appear as if it were a normal day, just like any other.

When Koji came in to relieve her, Karin raced up to her room to grab her knapsack. She bid everyone a good night before heading out onto the street and making her way to where the rally would take place.

* * *

The Equalist uniform was tight against Karin's skin and itched in places where she had begun to sweat. She stood in line with all of the other Equalists members that would be patrolling the rally as Lieutenant paced back and forth issuing orders.

There were at least thirty recruits surrounding her, and she could feel the tension coming off of them in waves. Upon looking at the sheer number of people surrounding her, she began to realize that the Equalist movement had more supporters than she had anticipated.

When she had first entered the warehouse, she had encountered two massive gentlemen who seemed to be patrolling the doors to make sure only people loyal to the cause could enter. Once inside the convention hall, she had seen around fifty people dressed in the Equalist livery setting up for the rally.

_These are just the people that decided to take action. I can't even imagine how many ordinary citizens are involved in this movement, _Karin thought to herself as Lieutenant droned on about their duties for the evening.

He finally reached the group of ten that Karin had been assigned to. She could feel her breath catch briefly as her gut knotted in anticipation.

"Troop number 247, you will be patrolling the upper level stairs. If you see something unusual happening on the ground you are to report to your leading officer who will sound the alarm. We do not anticipate any disturbances during the rally, but we can never be too careful." Karin nodded in unison with her other group members before Lieutenant signaled them all to go to their posts.

It was around eight o'clock when Karin and her group split and got into position, half on the left side balcony and the other on the right. From her vantage point, she could see all of the other recruits hurrying into place as the older members continued to set up the room.

The convention hall was quite large, with many stairs and doors leading to other parts of the building. Directly across from the main door was a large stage where three banners were being placed. The center banner was of Amon, the leader of the Equalist movement. The other two on either side simply said "The Revelation."

Time seemed to go by slowly for those recruits that were only needed for security purposes. Eventually, people began to trickle in to the convention hall and by nine the room was packed with so many people that Karin was unable to count them all. If she had to estimate, there had to be over a thousand people at the rally when it started.

Suddenly the lights around the stage began to flash on and the incessant chatter of the mob below began to lessen.

"Please welcome, your hero, your savior - Amon!" A booming voice shook through the convention hall and the lowered platform in the middle of the stage began to rise. Amon stood front and center, flanked on both sides by three Equalist generals, one of which was Lieutenant.

Shouts began to ring out and Karin walked down the balcony a bit in order to get closer to the stage. This was the first time that she had seen Amon in person, but he appeared just as he had in all of the propaganda that appeared all over the city. He wore the same dark green and black as all of the other Equalists, but instead of the green face mask, he wore a pure white one with a red marking in the center of the forehead. The hood of his black jacket was pushed so far forward that the mask was hidden in shadow.

He stepped up toward the microphone, slowly the room grew silent, and he began to speak. "My quest for equality began long ago. When I was a boy, my family and I lived on a small farm. We weren't rich...and none of us were benders." He used the word "bender" in a way that made it clear to all of those listening that he felt nothing but hatred and disgust towards this group of society. Karin could feel her face redden in anger at the tone.

"This made us very easy targets for the fire bender that extorted my father. One day my father confronted this man. But when he did, that fire bender took my family from me. Then...he took my face." The crowd gasped in horror, even though Amon never removed the mask to show his scars.

"I've been forced to hide behind a mask ever since. As you know, the Avatar has recently arrived in Republic City." The crowd began to boo. Karin could feel her blood begin to boil. Throughout history the Avatar had shown the world that they were benevolent and dedicated to keeping balance. From her teachings she could see that without the Avatar the world would be in ruins, and she felt almost as if these people were betraying a saint within their culture for a revengeful man in a mask.

"And if she were here, she would tell you that bending brings balance to the world - but she is wrong. The only thing that bending has brought to the world is suffering. It has been the cause of every war in every era, but that is about to change. I know you have been wondering 'what is the revelation?' You are about to get your answer. Since the beginning of time spirits have acted as guardians to our world and they have spoken to me."

"Yeah, that's likely." Karin muttered to herself bitterly as Amon continued his speech.

"They say the Avatar has failed humanity. That is why the spirits have chosen me to usher in a new era of balance. They have granted me a power that will make equality a reality. The power to take a person's bending away. Permanently." The crowd gasped again and Karin grabbed onto the railing.

She couldn't believe what she was hearing - no one in history had ever been able to take away another's bending except the Avatar. The last known case was when Avatar Aang took away the bending of a man named Yakone right in Republic City.

Before she had decided to accept this mission, there had been rumors that Amon may have the ability, but in her heart she couldn't believe they were true. _No one should ever be forced to live without their bending. To lose that part of myself would be to live as a hallow shell. Tui and La, please show me that this isn't true. Show me that this man is nothing, but an imposter!_

"Now for a demonstration. Please welcome Lightning Bolt Zolt, leader of the Triple Threat Triad and one of the most notorious criminals in Republic City." Karin's eyes widened at the words. Her heart began to beat faster as the crowd began to boo loudly. She didn't expect to know any of the men that Amon had chosen for this demonstration, but her heart dropped as she recognized the nervous young man at the end of the line.

"Tui and La, it can't be!" Standing on stage was none other than Bolin. Karin gripped the railing even tighter. She could see Bolin's naive smile in her mind's eye and her heart contracted painfully. She was sure that this had to be some mistake.

"Everything good over there?" One of the other recruits called to her, possibly noting the tension in her body. She straightened herself and let go of the railing quickly before giving the man a slight nod and a thumbs up.

"Zolt has amassed a fortune by extorting and abusing nonbenders. But his reign of terror is about to come to an end. Now, in the interest of fairness, I will give Zolt a chance to fight to keep his bending." Amon stepped over to one side of the stage as one of the generals loosened Zolt's restraints and tossed him to the other side.

"You're gonna regret doin' that, Pal." Zolt shouted out as he unleashed a quick flurry of punches, sending fire streaming towards Amon, who gracefully dodged them. Amon came ever closer to Zolt as a surge of lightening was sent his way.

He ducked beneath the bolt, grabbing on to Zolt's outstretched hand and twisting Zolt around. The lightning struck the balcony on the right side of the building and the lights surrounding the stage. Karin could see her fellow troop members scurrying to the opposite side of the balcony to avoid a blow.

Amon placed one hand on the back of Zolt's neck and the other on his forehead.

The lightning slowly turned to fire and then diminished completely.

Once he was done, Amon released Zolt, who fell almost lifelessly to the floor.

Zolt got up and tried to send another fiery punch at Amon, but nothing happened, he just fell back to the floor.

"What did you do to me?" Zolt's voice was laced with fear. His body sagged in defeat.

"Your firebending is gone. Forever." The noise level in the convention hall began to rise. Karin stood motionlessly on the balcony, not believing what she had just seen. "The era of bending is over. A new era of equality has begun."

_No. It can't be,_ She thought to herself as the crowd cheered with excitement. Slowly, Amon brought forward his other captives, one by one, and completed the same ritual. Suddenly the only one left on stage was Bolin, and Karin's blood began to surge once more.

She fought the urge to jump from the balcony and go to his rescue. She wasn't close to him, but she couldn't just stand there and watch someone take his bending away for no reason. There was no way that Bolin would ever use his bending to hurt others!

_I can't believe that the White Lotus expect me to just sit by and watch while they destroy these people, _Karin thought to herself as she watched Bolin raise his hands in an attempt to placate Amon.

The ground began to quake beneath her feet, shaking Karin out of her thoughts, and then a loud explosion sounded before the room began to fill with steam and smoke. She could no longer see the front of the room, and the stage was completely blocked from her view.

"Troop 247! What do you see?" The captain of her unit called to her and though she felt an intense need to descend on the stage after Bolin, she shook her head and abandoned her post racing towards the rest of her troop.

"Captain, we can't see anything. The smoke is too dense. Forgive me for speaking out of turn, but it may be best if we begin to block the exits," said one of the younger men of the group. Karin saw the captain give him a swift slap to the back of the head.

"This isn't my first rodeo, boy. I am the captain for a reason. Think about that next time you try to give out orders." The recruit ducked his head and nodded, mumbling a lot of "yes sirs."

"What would you like us to do, Captain?" Karin asked as she came upon them, she could see the rest of the troop on the other side having a similar conference. She wanted more than anything else to turn her gaze on the stage, but knew that she would not be able to see if Bolin was safe.

_If I can barely see through the smoke from up here, I'm sure it will be hard for Amon. I just have to hope that he wasn't able to get to Bolin. I can't afford to break my cover, not now, _Karin thought to herself as she waited for her captain to give his orders.

"Head for the side exits. Whoever started this ruckus might not leave with the rest of the crowd." The five recruits nodded as they raced down the stairs and on to the main platform.

Karin could see the citizens streaming out of the door, pushing and pulling at each other in their race to escape. She had no doubts that there would be more injuries here tonight than just those inflicted on the Triple Threat Triads.

The group headed down one of the side entrances and came upon an open door. Karin couldn't be sure if the culprit would head this way, but upon hearing a metallic clang and a loud thud she knew that they had picked the right exit.

They came out on a landing in an alleyway and Karin almost stopped dead in her tracks when she saw none other than Avatar Korra, Mako, Bolin, and Naga. She felt torn between her undercover mission and the protection of people she considered allies.

"The Avatar, that's her!" Lieutenant shouted from his position on the street below. Only one misstep hinted at her hesitation, something that none of her fellow recruits would see as they vaulted off of the landing and onto the street below.

The group chased after the trio for only a few moments before they heard Amon's voice from overhead. "Let her go. She's the perfect messenger to tell the city of my power."

Karin looked up at this man, who was causing such a rift between the bending and nonbending community, and silently thanked him. She knew in her heart that she couldn't fight the Avatar, even if it meant blowing her cover. Her shoulders sagged ever so slightly in relief as she headed back onto the landing with the rest of Troop 247.

"You all did very well tonight," Lieutenant called from inside the doorway. "I believe it is safe to say that you are no longer recruits. You have passed your test. I look forward to seeing you all in the coming weeks as official officers of the Equalist camp."

He patted Karin's shoulder and squeezed it as she walked by him. She had made them proud, and she knew that this would make it that much harder to get by unscathed in the war to come.


	7. Informants

**A/N:** I am so sorry that it has taken this long to get this chapter out. School has been extremely hectic and I have had this ready for a while but only just finished the revision. I really hope that you enjoy this chapter and I hope to get the next one out within the month. For all of those that have been reading this since the summer I want to thank you for sticking with me through the giant time lapses between chapters. Reviews are always welcome as always. Have a great week!

* * *

Amon's demonstration at the rally shook the very core of every citizen living in Republic City. Within the week, the entire city knew that the rumors of Amon's alleged ability was indeed fact. The benders acted as if nothing had happened, but Karin noticed small changes in their behavior. People who had normally walked alone and with confidence began to wander in packs and frequently looked over their shoulders as if they believed they were being followed.

The nonbenders were a different story. Some of them, those that believed in the revolution, became more outspoken in public, preaching for equality and berating benders. Others assumed that the revolution would be quashed before it started, or believed that there wasn't a problem to begin with. Those individuals went about their business as usual and made it a point to show people that they did not agree with the views of the rebels.

It was at the end of that week that Karin sent her first official report to the Order of the White Lotus. She attempted to make the report as thorough as possible, noting the unrest within the city as well as everything she knew about the hierarchy within the Equalist camp.

It was daunting to realize the task ahead of her. The movement was gaining momentum and it was only a matter of time before more people got involved. After seeing the amount of supporters that had shown up for the rally, she realized that this may be too big of a job for one person alone. So, within her report, she asked to have the council discuss sending in more agents to help her.

She highly doubted that Grand Master Kuzon would send anyone to help her, but perhaps her father could get him to see reason. One young woman among this entire organization was not going to be enough and if she was caught it would be much harder for the Order to infiltrate the camp afterwards.

The possibilities of what could happen at this point seemed endless and it made Karin weary. She didn't get much sleep after the rally, partly due to her anxiety and partly because most of her nights consisted of training and preparation at the Equalist Headquarters.

Though Karin had been accepted as an Equalist, she was still considered low among the chain of command. She was a grunt instead of a trainee at this point, and in order to rise within the organization she knew that she would have to become very involved and she would have to prove herself as vital to not only Lieutenant, but to Amon.

Karin lay in bed pondering everything that had happened in Republic City so far and tried to determine whether the citizens would follow Amon blindly into a revolution that could possibly become a war. Suddenly, the music playing on her radio crackled before going out completely and an ominous voice took its place.

"Good evening my fellow Equalists. This is your leader, Amon." Karin jolted up in bed as that familiar voice rang through her room above Narook's.

"As you have heard, the republic council has voted to make me public enemy number one." She ran a hand hurriedly through her hair, recalling a conversation that she had heard between a couple that had come in for lunch.

Apparently, after the rally, the council of Republic City had finally determined that Amon was too dangerous to stay within the general population. Rumor was that Councilman Tarrlok was attempting to build a task force in order to capture people that openly supported the revolution and all law enforcement officers were asked to actively seek out Amon. It was also rumored that he had asked Avatar Korra to help him head up the task force, but she had refused.

Amon continued, "Proving once again that the bending oppressors of this city will stop at nothing to quash our revolution. But we cannot be stopped. Our numbers grow stronger by the day. You no longer have to live in fear. The time has come for benders to experience fear." The radio signal crackled again and returned to the music that had previously been playing.

Karin's anxiety mounted higher, forcing her to get out of bed and walk to her window. Amon was right in saying that their numbers grew stronger every day, she had witnessed as much at the rally and since then more and more people had come pouring into the training camps hidden around the city. She could feel in her gut that Amon would soon give another public display of his influence in Republic City.

_"_How does Kuzon just expect me to sit around and wait for innocent people to get hurt while everyone else twiddles their thumbs?" She shook her head in frustration. Her mind whirred furiously, thinking of how foolish the Order was being for sending one person to infiltrate the Equalists on her own. "They should've had people in Republic City long before now."

She paced around the room for a while, thinking of what she could do to slow down the momentum of the Equalists. She even prayed to Tui and La, asking them for guidance. Suddenly, Karin stopped and looked at the ceiling, realization finally dawning on her.

"If I can get word anonymously to this task force, I can shut down the training camps one by one. How can Amon perform a revolution without an army?" She smiled slightly to herself, her muscles bunching together in anticipation.

She took a deep breath and nodded in order to reassure herself that this was the right course of action before bending to retrieve a large wooden case from underneath her bed. Inside the case was a set of regular civilian clothes and make-up.

She put the new set of clothes on and smudged a bit of dark brown make-up on various parts of her face and neck. She then wrapped her side braid around itself, creating a bun on the crown of her head. She picked up the simple brown cap at the bottom of the case and placed it strategically on her head so that the shadow created by the rim would cast her face in shadow.

No one would get a good look at her face this way and then no one would be able to tell who had actually been the tipster.

Karin quickly headed down the stairs and out the back entrance of Narook's, making sure that no one was around before heading to the square. A bag of coins jingled at her side.

_There's bound to be someone in the square that will take my little bit of information to the police... For the right price. _Karin placed a hand over her money in an attempt to keep quite before disappearing completely into the darkness.

It wasn't long before Karin was walking out of the alleyways and into Central City Station. During the day the Station was packed, but at this time of night the lights from the surrounding buildings shrouded the few remaining stragglers in an eerie halo. Most of the people that remained were vagrants or perhaps a couple walking home after an evening out. Karin clung to the shadows and observed, looking for the perfect candidate to be her messenger.

Her gaze fell on a young boy leaning smugly against the railing at the base of Fire Lord Zuko's statue. She observed him for a few more moments, noting his mannerisms and his clothing and concluded that he was probably living on the streets. He probably too young to have been picked up by one of the Republic City gangs, so it was likely that he was a pickpocket or a messenger.

Karin stuck her hands into her pockets and walked quickly across the street towards the square.

The young boy didn't look in her direction as she made her way towards him, but she saw him tense and wouldn't have been surprised if he had spotted her in much the same way that she had spotted him.

He kept his gaze on the small cluster of kids playing near a street lamp and only looked towards Karin when she was a couple of feet away.

"Hey kid." Karin began, nodding her head towards the boy. He shifted his body slightly so that he was better able to see her, but kept the railing at his back. He returned the nod, and Karin took this as permission to speak. "Want to make some cash?" She asked, turning to look up at the statue, so that any passerby wouldn't see their interaction.

He tilted his head forward, his cap casting a dark shadow over most of his face, but she could see him grinning. "Depends on the job."

"I need a message delivered." She replied. She took note of his ragged clothing and how it hung loosely on his body and sighed inwardly.

Back at the compound there weren't many orphans and there definitely weren't any homeless orphans living on the street. Now that she was in the city, she saw them everywhere. At first her heart had squeezed painfully and she would give a yuan to those kids that looked like they most needed it, but she understood now that this was just life in the city. If kids were going to survive on the streets, they needed to earn it, and most of the time it was through crime.

_At least he'll be earning this money honestly. _Karin thought to herself as she turned her gaze back to the statue.

"What kind of message?" He asked, turning to look at the other children again.

"I need you to deliver the location of some Equalist training camps to the police." She saw the kids head jerk around as he stared at her. His expression showed her that she would be paying a lot for this message to be sent. Underneath his need for money was fear of the Equalists. He assumed that if they discovered he had given a message to the police that he would disappear. Karin knew that his assumptions were probably right, but hoped that he was skillful enough to get the job done.

"You must be crazy lady. Nobody crosses Amon." He shook his head and began to walk away from her.

"I'll make it worth your while." Karin said a little bit louder as she turned to stare after him, all pretenses gone.

"It'll take a lot of dough for that to happen." He replied, turning to look at her again, rubbing his thumb across his nose.

"Fifteen yuans sound good to you?" She asked, pulling the bills out of her bag and counting them slowly.

She looked up at the young boy to see that his eyes had widened considerably. He probably hadn't gotten this much money at one time in a while. He rubbed his stomach absent-mindedly and Karin imagined that she heard his stomach rumbling at the thought of a good hot meal.

"What's the message?" He asked, coming closer and attempting to snatch the money out of her grip.

She yanked her arm back quickly and tsked at him, shaking her finger back and forth at his sneakiness. She pulled a strip of paper out of the same pouch and wrapped it within the wad of cash. "There is a slip of paper within these yuans with the location of three Equalist training camps. You are to hand this slip of paper to a member of the police that is on this new task force. If you do not do as I have asked and take my money anyway, I will know and I will find you. Understand?"

"Gee lady, you strike a hard bargain. The name is Skoochy." The boy stuck out his hand and Karin returned the gesture and could feel the money slip from her grasp as she released his hand. No one was the wiser for their cash exchange.

"Well Skoochy, if you do well with this message I may have more work for you in the future. Don't spend it all in one place." She put her hands back into her pockets as he nodded, placing the money under his cap.

"Who are you, my mom?" He replied with a harsh chuckle before walking off.

Karin leaned tiredly against the front counter of Narook's the next evening, wishing that she had slept last night instead of gallivanting off to the city square.

* * *

The entire trip had taken her three hours and by the time she reached her rooms above Narook's it was almost three in the morning. Even once she had climbed into bed, it took her a great deal of time to actually fall asleep.

That morning, Chihiro sent word to Narook that she wouldn't be able to come in for her night shift and Karin was asked to work a double. She secretly hoped that it would be slow enough to close early, and that she could use work as an excuse for not showing up at the Equalist Headquarters two nights in a row. Now that night had fallen, Karin dreamed of climbing into her small bed upstairs and sleeping for the next week.

Slowly the dinner rush trickled out and the restaurant grew quiet. Karin eyelids began to feel extremely heavy, and her head jerked multiple times as she nodded off.

Even in her haze, she noticed a young man enter the restaurant, making a beeline for the booth across from the front counter. She smiled tiredly as Bolin gave her a friendly grin, motioning for her to come over. Her smile grew wider as she sat down opposite him, noting the sparkle in his eyes. She didn't know what it was about Bolin, but he just exuded this sense of happiness and innocence. Whenever he walked into Narook's, he seemed to bring the sun in with him. The room became brighter and warmer whenever he entered it.

"Haku, we're going to need an order of noodles for Bolin." Karin called back to the cook, who stuck his head out from the kitchen window to say hello to Bolin.

"Make that two please!" Bolin shouted back as Haku disappeared behind the divide.

"You must have a bottomless stomach." Karin said with a laugh. "I can never make it through one bowl of noodles without getting full."

"I'm surprised that you even question it at this point after watching me eat three bowls the other week." He replied with a chuckle, placing his elbows on the table and leaning a bit closer to her.

"I don't know, it just amazes me every time someone orders more than one bowl." Karin looked up at him, noting the dark bags beneath his eyes from lack of sleep. "So, I haven't seen you here in a while. The last I heard Mako and Korra were looking for you."

She hated to admit it, but she had been a bit worried about him ever since she had seen him on that stage at the Equalist rally. She knew that he had gotten out safely thanks to his brother and Avatar Korra, but she had worried all the same.

Out of all the people that she had met in Republic City, he was the kindest and most genuine of all. It would have been hard for her to accept doing nothing to save him if Amon had succeeded in taking his bending away that evening.

It was quite clear from his appearance and his body language that the rally had affected him greatly. She hoped that he would be able to recover from it, but she knew that so long as he was affiliated with the Avatar that he would always be caught in the crossfire.

"Well, they found me." Bolin replied with a chuckle, the laughter lighting up his green eyes once again. Karin felt her smile broaden slightly as he laughed.

Bolin was so carefree, happy, and optimistic. These traits were the exact opposite of what Karin had felt since she entered Republic City. Despite the illusions created by fantasy books, spy work was hard and often left the spy feeling paranoid, pessimistic, stressed, and alone. She envied Bolin for his innocence, but she felt the knot in her stomach ease slightly in his presence. It was only then that she realized how much she had missed seeing him.

Once both of them had finished laughing Bolin continued, "I would've come around sooner for some food, but Mako has had us training like crazy for the Pro-Bending Tournament. I only got tonight off because Korra is having dinner on Air Temple Island and Mako is on some fancy date at Kuang's."

Karin widened her eyes, remembering how he had told her that the Fire Ferrets didn't have enough money for the championship pot for the Pro-Bending Tournament. It was a mystery as to how Mako could afford to take a girl to Kuang's Cuisine, and the even bigger mystery was what girl he had taken. As far as Karin knew, Mako's life revolved completely around Bolin and the Fire Ferrets. She had never seen him with a girl besides Korra, and Bolin had never mentioned one. "Wow, that _is_ fancy. Who's the lucky lady?"

"No idea. He just came home from work today all googly eyed talking about some girl that had run him over with her moped." He shrugged his shoulders and gave Karin a look that said _What can you do?_

"Well, if she hit him with her moped, I would hope she's paying." Karin joked, getting another chuckle out of Bolin.

"Order up." Haku called, drawing Karin's attention back to the restaurant. Thankfully, no one else had come in or Narook would have chewed her hide.

"That must be yours. I'll be right back." Karin pushed herself out of the booth and headed over to the kitchen, quickly placing the two steaming hot bowls of noodles on a tray and making her way back over to his table.

She placed the two bowls in front of him side-by-side and began to make her way back over to the counter.

"Aw, now you're just going to leave me to eat alone? I'm hurt." Karin turned to look at him and rolled her eyes. He was pouting and making moose-lion cub eyes at her, his hand placed over his heart. She had to admit that he looked adorable.

"Well I am working you know. I'm not just here to boost your ego and entertain you." She joked back as she walked over towards his booth, taking the seat opposite him once again.

She sat with Bolin throughout the entirety of his meal and he stayed to talk for a while afterwards as well. Despite the restaurant being closed, Narook did not ask Bolin to leave. It was one of the perks that Bolin received for being Narook's best customer.

It was quite late when he finally stood up to leave and Karin walked him over to the curtain that served as the front door.

"Try not to get into any trouble on your way home." Karin said with a smile as Bolin exited the restaurant.

"But I love getting into trouble." He replied as he lifted the curtain and stepped outside. Karin followed him and held the flap up with her arm.

"Well I don't want to worry about you every time you leave the restaurant." She felt her gut clench tightly and regretted saying it the minute it left her mouth. Karin wasn't in the habit of saying things out loud without thinking about it first. She fought the urge to clap her hand over her mouth or to smack the heel of her hand against her forehead.

"You worry about me?" He asked, his smile lighting up his face. His entire body changed and she shook her head.

"Don't let it go to your head. You have enough fan girls and I am not one of them. Got that?" She replied poking him in the chest.

He nodded before flashing her a grin. Suddenly the happy spark in his eyes dimmed and he enveloped her in a warm hug. She felt her body grow tense as she hesitated. Then she relaxed completely and returned it. She felt her stomach tighten pleasantly and was a bit disappointed when he released her.

"Thank you for sitting with me through dinner. I'll see you soon." He patted one of her shoulders and flashed her another smile.

"Y-Yeah, see you soon." Karin stammered, and she could feel her cheeks getting hot.

_What is wrong with me? I'm acting like some love-struck village girl mooning over some boy. _She looked down at the ground and hoped that the shadows would hide her blush.

Then, as if the moment hadn't happened, Bolin replied "And don't worry about me. I'm a Pro-Bender and an amazing earthbender, no one would dare fight me!" He laughed before turning around to begin his walk home. She could hear him whistling as he rounded the corner.

"I don't think Amon would be too keen if he heard that one of his new members was seen flirting with a bender. And not just any bender, a Pro-Bender from the Fire Ferrets." Karin turned around to find were the voice had come from, though she knew very well who it was.

Chen emerged from the darkness of an alley-way a cigarette perched precariously between his lips. His eyes glimmered with malice as he sauntered out of the darkness.

"What I do is none of your concern, Chen. Who's to say that I'm not getting close to him in order to get information on the Avatar for Amon?" Karin asked, her voice sounding confident despite her insides being a jumble of nerves. She hadn't thought that someone might see her with Bolin. She silently cursed herself for being too comfortable with him and in her surroundings. It was incidences like this that blew spy's cover.

"Amon doesn't need some grunt to gather intelligence on the Avatar for him. He's already got eyes everywhere." He took a drag from the cigarette and blew the smoke in her face as he walked towards her.

Karin continued to play her part, sighing before directing a scowl in his direction. "He's just a customer, not that it's any of your business. He gives good tips when he gets good service."

"Oh, I bet he does. Are you providing some _special_ services for our young earth bender, Karin?" Chen's hands reached out to grab Karin and she quickly sidestepped before getting into a fighting stance.

"Try to touch me again, I dare you." She threatened, her blood boiling in her veins. She had never felt such anger towards a person in her life and though the emotions scared her slightly, the anger was too great to ignore. Chen shook his head before tossing his cigarette to the ground and stomping it out.

He tsked at her as he looked up to see her still ready for a fight. "You better watch your back Karin. I may feel the need to tell Lieutenant that one of his new fighters isn't quite who she pretends to be."

Karin felt like the wind had been knocked out of her. _He can't possibly know about who I am. If he had found out he would've gone straight to Amon instead of teasing me with the information._

Still her mind whirred crazily as the idea that he might know who she really was sunk in. If he knew about what she was there for she would have to get rid of him, and discreetly. Her stomach was knotted and her heart began to pound. Though this situation had been handled in her training, she didn't know if she was prepared to "get rid" of anyone.

"A rebel in love with an earth bender, what a joke." He spit at her feet and sneered before turning around and disappearing into the darkness of the alley way.

She felt her heart beat slow down slightly as she realized that he didn't know anything, except that she was friends with Bolin.

_Thank Tui and La, he doesn't know anything. But I'll have to take care of him before he digs any deeper._

She surveyed the streets before heading back inside and up the stairs to her room. She retrieved the case from under her bed and dressed in her disguise and then headed to the city square.

She found Skoochy standing in the same spot that he had been in the night before.

"I've got another location for you to take to the police." She told him in a gruff voice. Skoochy swiped his thumb against his nose and held out his hand. She placed another fifteen yuans into his hand and he crossed his arms in front of his chest. "The Dragon Flats borough underneath a book shop, if they look through the basement windows they'll find the training camp."

Skoochy nodded and headed off as he had the night before.

_Tui and La, let Chen be in that building when they raid it. _She felt her heart burning with hatred as she thought back to his empty threats. All of this revenge because a young woman had beat him in his own house. She hoped with every fiber of her being that he would be caught and smiled at the thought that he would be put in prison because of her.

She took the windy path back to Narook's and climbed into bed. She was sound asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.


	8. Cover

**A/N: **I would like to apologize once again for this chapter coming out so late. I had intended to complete it during my spring break, but as you can obviously tell that did not happen. I hope that these long absences are not turning you all away from the story, I will try to do better in the future. Thank you all for the reviews and a big thank you to everyone who has added this to their story alert list or to their favorite story list. It truly means a lot to me to know that you all like the story. Enjoy chapter 8!

* * *

Karin was a jumble of nerves in the days following her visit to Skoochy. She kept waiting for someone to run into Narook's or into the Equalist headquarters screeching the news that the Equalist camps were falling and that followers were being captured left and right. The news that she wanted to hear the most was that Chen had been arrested.

But, the news never seemed to come.

A week went by and there was no sign of the taskforce gearing up to take down any of the camps that Karin had given the location to. She half wondered if Skoochy had simply taken her money and not delivered the information, but she decided that if another week went by and nothing happened then she could deal with that possibility.

Maybe the police just didn't believe him. He is a kid after all. She thought to herself as she stuck her hands deep into her pockets and continued on her way to the Equalist headquarters.

Karin kept her eyes on the people passing by her as she made her way into the more desolate locations of Republic City, where the Equalists were based. She made sure to note whether anyone seemed suspicious and frequently ducked into alleyways in case anyone was following her. It was normal protocol for Equalists going to headquarters that they not be followed, so most of them took the labyrinth of tunnels that wove through the city, but Karin for the most part walked the streets.

It was helpful to know whether any of the civilians were aware of what the abandoned warehouse district had become, or if they simple stayed away because it seemed foreboding all on its own.

It took a considerable amount of time to arrive because of this practice, but it was always good to find out what the people knew.

Once she entered the warehouse district, the number of citizens walking the streets was greatly reduced. For the most part, the only movement she observed was the scuttling of rats in the alleyways.

Finally, she came upon the last manhole that led into the basement of the Equalist headquarters. Karin surveyed the area to make sure that no one saw her, before propping up the metal grate and lowering herself into the tunnels. She let her eyes adjust to the darkness before opening up her knapsack and pulling out her uniform.

Though most of the people within the Dragon Flats borough knew what she looked like, she felt that it was best to let as few people as possible see her true face. It was always better for them to just know her by her name so that if they saw her on the streets they would not recognize her.

The night that Chen had found her hugging Bolin outside of Narook's was a perfect example of why it was important that no one know her face.

Once her eyes had adjusted, she made her way through the tunnels towards headquarters. Light slowly began to appear at the end of the tunnel ahead of her and she soon entered the basement of headquarters.

As usual, a number of Equalists were working on orders that had been handed down to them. A few of them nodded to Karin as she made her way towards the commander on duty.

The person on duty varied depending on the day of the week and the time of day. They usually stood on a platform next to the stairs that led to the main floor of the warehouse. Today's commander was a man that Karin had worked for before, but whose name she had yet to learn. From what she knew of him, he was a father of three who lived in the Dragon Flats borough. He had joined the Equalists because a member of one of the triads had killed his wife in a raid a couple of years before.

"Commander." Karin said, taking a serious stance, her hands placed behind her back.

"Name?" He replied, grabbing a stack of papers next to him. The papers contained the names and troop number of all Equalist members who were allowed to enter headquarters. It was a security measure that had been installed in case someone tried to sneak in who didn't belong.

"Karin, sir, member of troop 247." She watched him as he flipped through the pages full of names. There had to be at least a hundred pages worth of names. Finally he found hers and made a check under the date.

"Your orders today are to await a transport van on the upper floors and bring the boxes down to the basement. The van should be arriving soon." The tone of his voice was meant as a dismissal and Karin nodded her head obediently before heading to the staircase.

At the top of the stairs she stopped for a moment to survey her surroundings once more. A number of members bustled around doing odd jobs and a few entered rooms on the upper balcony. Most of the people that would attend these meetings were upper level members of the Equalists and usually were making preparations for Amon.

It was rumored that the center office at the back side of the building was Amon's office. The only person that was ever seen entering the room was Lieutenant. Karin wasn't sure whether the rumor was actually true or not because she had not seen Amon since the Revelation. However, she had often seen Lieutenant coming in and out of the room and she knew it wasn't his office.

As Karin made her way towards the back of the building, she looked up at the balcony towards Amon's supposed office. As usual, the door was closed. Above the doors archway was the symbol of the Equalists drawn with red and white paint.

The night progressed slowly as Karin waited for the van. Once it arrived, she and four other members who had been given the same duty for the night began to move the heavy boxes down into the basement. Karin did not talk to the other members as she transported the boxes downstairs. She felt that it was a waste of time talking to people who could potentially become enemies.

She spent her time wondering whether one of the camps were being raided by the taskforce and between those thoughts her mind strayed to the one place that she had forbidden it to go: Bolin.

As much as she hated to say it, Chen had been right. What if one of the Equalists saw her with Bolin and told Amon? Her whole cover could be blown because of some boy. She could always try and explain it away by saying he was only a customer, but she wasn't sure whether that was entirely true or not.

Karin had never been one to let a boy get in the way of what she wanted. Eri had always joked that he was a lover and that Karin was a fighter. Eri had been the one who ran off to the village to woo the girls, while Karin stayed in the compound and trained until her body and mind could not take anymore.

There weren't many girls on the compound, especially those who were training along with the boys to become a White Lotus member. A lot of the boys had been turned off by her, others saw her as just one of the boys, but there had been one who tried to court her when she was fifteen.

Karin had never really been interested in boys and love, all she wanted was to become a member and travel the world. When this boy tried to court Karin, she at least gave him a shot because she felt that she had to, but one of his friends dared him to have a duel with Karin. Karin won the duel, and the boy became bitter and angry. He called her all types of names and didn't talk to her after that.

_I hadn't felt anything for that guy anyways. He was more of a nuisance than anything else_, Karin reasoned with herself as she reflected on the experience.

With Bolin it was different, and Karin didn't know what to think about it, or what it really meant.

He had come to Narook's during the week and had given her his customary smile and her stomach had knotted nervously as he came over to say hi to her. She had told herself then that it had been something that she had eaten because the feeling lingered even after he left.

She couldn't understand why Bolin was having this affect on her. She didn't necessarily see him outside of Narook's and he didn't exactly go there every day. But, when he did, he always made sure to talk to her and it wasn't uncommon for her to take a break and sit with him while he was there.

Between her thoughts about the taskforce throughout the week, he had invaded her mind and she had attempted to push him out by going to the training grounds at headquarters and working it out.

She had started out by simply running through the city and performing strength exercises in her room, but when that stopped working she began to challenge people to chi blocking duels at the Equalists headquarters. The work made her focus her mind on things other than her strange feelings and also helped to maintain her fitness.

It was work that made her so tired at the end of the day that when she went back to Narook's she would immediately fall asleep instead of staying awake and worrying about whether the camps were being raided and when she would see Bolin again.

She had never let her feelings get the better of her before, and now, at the worst possible moment they decided that they would no longer be brushed under the rug. Just thinking about her dilemma brought her frustration to the surface. She slammed the crate she was carrying onto the floor.

"Something wrong?" Someone asked her, she looked towards the face and saw another person with their mask on.

Karin shook her head, "Everything's fine, comrade. Just a rough day." The individual nodded their head in agreement before heading back upstairs.

Karin was about to follow behind when a group of people burst through the tunnels in a panic. Two of them had on uniforms, while the other two were wearing plainclothes. All of them looked winded.

At the head of the group was a member in uniform walking purposefully towards the stairs.

"What is it?" The commander on duty questioned, rising out of his seat. "What has happened?"

"The task force has finally dealt a blow." A familiar voice replied before taking the mask off. "The Dragon Flats borough camp is gone." Chen continued with a scowl before stalking up the stairs to alert Lieutenant.

"We were the only ones to escape." One of the four group members explained as he wiped the sweat from his brow.

"They came out of nowhere. One minute we were all just practicing, and the next a rush of water came through the windows." Another member spoke up, leaning on her knees in an attempt to catch her breath.

"The benders weren't far behind. They captured everyone except for us and we only got away because we were closer to the tunnel door." The man continued as people gathered around to hear his story. "Avatar Korra almost caught up with us, but a couple of members that were on watch in the tunnels bravely sacrificed themselves to get Chen through to headquarters."

Once Chen had explained what had happened to Lieutenant, all of the members that were at headquarters were asked to gather in the basement. He stood on the commander's platform as everyone assembled, his eyes scanning everyone as they entered.

People were jittery and nervous. The man next to Karin looked like he had been crying and when the person next to him asked what was wrong he explained that his son had been training at the Dragon Flats borough camp and was afraid that he had been captured. Karin felt sorry for the man, but kept her thoughts to herself.

"My fellow Equalists, Councilman Tarrlok's taskforce has finally decided to make themselves known now that the Avatar has joined the ranks. It is probable that in the following days that they will raid other camps if they know the location. We will attempt to move the training to another warehouse in the area. Until the building is prepared, spread the word that everyone should be as vigilant as possible. The taskforce cannot take us down if they cannot find us." The group nodded in understanding, but one man spoke out.

"Will Amon strike back?" Everyone looked around to see who had spoken, but it must have been someone wearing a mask because Karin could not identify who it was.

"Amon has larger plans in mind. He is aware of the threat, but wishes that we proceed as normal." Lieutenant replied.

"Proceed as normal? What about the people who were captured? Does he not care about his own people?" The man beside Karin asked, his voice shaking slightly.

Lieutenant leveled his gaze directly at the man before responding. "The people that have joined our cause must understand that there will be some sacrifices. They will not be left behind, but for now we must focus on Amon's plan for the tournament."

The mention of a tournament stuck out to Karin. The only tournament that was coming up soon was the Pro-Bending tournament. What plan could he possibly have that involves the tournament?

She could feel the tension rising in the group as Lieutenant left the platform. People got together in groups and began to talk about what Lieutenant had just told them. They clearly could not believe that Amon would leave his people to rot in a jail cell for following his cause.

Karin went up to the commander on duty to let him know that she was leaving and headed back into the tunnels. At the same manhole, she changed back into her normal clothes and climbed the stairs up to street level.

Once she was in her room above Narook's she allowed her anger rise to the surface. How is it that that viper was able to escape the raid? She thought to herself clenching her fists at her sides. She took deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself, but there was no consoling her rage.

"If he even thinks that I was somehow involved in the raid he will watch me even more carefully than he already was." She said to herself as she sat down at the edge of her bed. She couldn't believe that her plan had failed, and worse there was a possibility that it could backfire on her.

_But why would he assume that I was involved in the first place?_ She reasoned with herself as she prepared for bed. Despite this reassurance, she couldn't help but think that this was going to come back to bite her later on.

* * *

A week passed and Chen did nothing to show Karin that he had any inkling that she was involved in the taskforce raids. During that time, all of the other locations that she had given Skoochy were raided with great success. Many Equalists were taken out of the picture, most of them were grunts, but a few officers were captured as well.

After that week, most of them had moved over to the new warehouse that had been prepared for training purposes. Karin heard a lot of the commanders complaining that it would be harder to get new recruits since they were so out of the way and believed that any people coming in off the streets would bring attention to the headquarters, but they spoke only in whispers.

The rest of the troops talked about the number of people that had been arrested and were angry that Amon was doing nothing to get them out. The tension at headquarters was palpable, as was the fear.

Despite all of the unrest, Amon never showed himself. He simply sent out Lieutenant to make sure that everything was under control.

It was just another night of Karin working on a mundane task at headquarters when the music on the radio that the commander on duty was listening to was interrupted.

"We bring you a special interruption in our normal programming to report on the newest update on the Council's Taskforce." A woman's voice reported breathily and you could hear others in the background making similar statements.

This announcement must be going out over every station. Karin thought and she gently placed down the crate she was carrying and sat on top of it to listen to the rest of the announcement.

"As many of you have heard over the previous week, Avatar Korra has recently agreed to join. Since then she has successfully raided four Equalist training camps. We are now meeting with Councilman Tarrlok and Avatar Korra to talk about their success and what they hope to accomplish in the coming days." The voice faded away slowly and was replaced by Councilman Tarlokk's.

"Avatar Korra has bravely answered the call to action. With the two of us leading the charge, Republic City has nothing to fear from Amon and the Equalists." A couple of people began to laugh, most likely someone a bit higher in the hierarchy.

"Nothing to fear, huh? Wait until they get a load of what we have planned for the tournament." One of them joked and the other elbowed him in the ribs as they continued to laugh.

"Don't talk so loud about it, the troops haven't been told yet." Karin looked at the two men briefly and recognized them as two commanders that were frequently seen going in and out of meetings in the rooms upstairs. It wasn't so farfetched that they would know of a plan that she had only heard mentioned briefly once.

"Question for the Avatar!" A reporter spoke out and the chatter that had invaded the radio ceased. "Amon remains at large, why have you failed to locate him?"

"You wanna know why? Because Amon is hiding in the shadows like a coward." The entire room erupted in a gasp as the deep and commanding voice of Avatar Korra filled the room. Everyone became instantly riveted by what the Avatar said next. "Amon! I challenge you to a duel. No task force, no chi-blockers, just the two of us. Tonight at midnight on Avatar Aang Memorial Island. Let's cut to the chase and settle this thing. If you're man enough to face me."

Karin had to make a conscious effort to keep her face calm as she listened to Korra's challenge. She could not believe what she was hearing! She had heard stories from people in the Order that the Avatar was hot-headed and impulsive, but Karin could not fathom why Korra would risk her bending in order to prove herself.

But aren't you doing the same thing? She thought to herself and shook her head. _That isn't even the same_. _I'm not openly challenging Amon._ She reasoned with herself.

Despite the similarities between her mission and the Avatar's proclamation, Karin refused to recognize Korra's efforts as anything but reckless.

She wondered whether Avatar Korra was even thinking of what this challenge would lead to if Amon actually accepted. She knew that the Avatar was well trained and could handle herself, but Karin couldn't see this proclamation as anything but foolish.

Everyone abandoned the radio and began to talk to one another, trying to decide on what Amon would do. Would he meet the Avatar in open battle and take away her bending? Was he really a coward? Would he ignore the taunt in case it was a ploy to capture him? Theories were running rampant.

"Silence!" A stern voice shouted from the stairs and every turned to look upon Amon in astonishment. "The Avatar has issued a threat. I plan to accept the offer, but we will not fight her. This is going to be an ambush."

"What would you like us to do, sir?" The commander on duty asked, standing up from his sitting position.

"Gather up your best troop and get them prepared. We're heading to Aang Memorial Island." With that said, he headed back up the stairs.

Karin hoped with all of her heart that her troop would be picked for the mission, but they were overlooked. _Well, then I guess I'll just have to make my way there on my own_, she decided.

She checked out with the commander before making her way back to Narook's. On the way she debated whether she should just tell Chief Bei Fong about the ambush, but she was sure that they already assumed that was what would happen. Even if they didn't think that Amon would show, Karin wouldn't be surprised if they put precautionary measures in place just in case he did. No one would risk letting the Avatar be captured by Amon.

On the other hand, Karin knew enough about Korra to know that she wouldn't let anyone follow her to the island. If there weren't any ground forces, Amon could ambush Korra and no one would know until it was too late.

"This could go one of two ways, and if the Avatar was defeated under my watch I would never be able to forgive myself." Karin said with a sigh as soon as she closed the door to her room.

She quickly pulled out some dark clothes from the chest at the end of her bed and made her way through the alleys, searching for members of the police force. She had taken some time since she had been in Republic City to observe the police force on the streets and knew that there were patrols set up for certain parts of the city that had high crime rates.

She made her way to one of these areas and waited in the darkness for the patrol to show up. It wasn't long before she saw the shinning dark grey metal that was the police uniform. Two officers were strolling leisurely along the sidewalk opposite her.

"Of course they're on the other side of the road." Karin muttered quietly to herself, thinking quickly about how she could get a message to them without them actually seeing her. She surveyed the people around her looking for a child that would be willing to take her message to the pair and quickly found a small girl who looked about four or five years old staring longingly into the window of the bakery that lined the left side of the alleyway. Karin could tell from the child's clothing and state of disarray that she was probably an orphan.

She stepped out of the alley as if she had just taken a shortcut to get to the bakery and stood a little bit behind the child, looking into the bakery window. She could see an older man inside sweeping the floor and thanked Tui and La that he had his back turned to her. If the police tried to find out who gave the tip to the little girl, they would only find recollections of a woman in black.

The little girl, sensing Karin's presence, looked up at her with curious eyes and Karin gave her a soft smile before crouching down. "Are you hungry?" Karin asked her and the little girl looked back at the sample of bread in the window and nodded her head solemnly.

"Yes, but I can't have any." She replied, her green eyes returning to meet Karin's blue.

"Why not?" Karin asked, her heart contracting painfully as she noticed that the girl was just skin and bones. She hated herself for exploiting this girl but knew that she wouldn't ask questions and would not be able to give the police an accurate description.

"I have no money." The girl continued, her lips forming into a pout.

"Well I'll make a deal with you, ok?" The little girl nodded her head, but her eyes remained wary. "You see those two policemen over there?" The girl nodded again, looking over Karin's shoulder towards the pair of officers on the opposite side of the road. "If you can give them a message for me, I will give you some money to buy some bread. Do you think you can do that?"

Karin heard the girl's stomach rumbling, and the girl placed her hand against her stomach and stared back through the window of the bakery. "Yeah, ok." She replied and Karin gave her another warm smile.

"All you have to tell them is that Aang Memorial Island is going to be an ambush. Can you say that for me?"

"Aang Mem-mem...or...ial Iceland is an am bush." She repeated and Karin nodded in approval before pulling five yuans out of her pocket. She girls eyes lit up and she held out her hand to receive the money.

"Go along now. Be careful crossing the street." Karin placed the money into the girls outstretched palm and retreated back into the shadows of the alleyway. She watched as the girl looked both ways and crossed the street to where the two police officers were chatting with a merchant.

She tugged on the hand of one of the men and he looked down at her before crouching. Karin saw the man tense up and she shrunk back slightly as the officer gazed around the streets trying to find the true informant. He then patted the girl on the head and turned to his partner.

As the little girl skipped happily across the road back to the bakery, the second of the policemen sprinted down the street towards police headquarters.

Knowing that her message would make it safely to Chief Bei Fong, Karin turned around and made her way towards the docks.

* * *

She wasn't sure where Korra or the Equalists would be once she reached Aang Memorial Island, so once she docked her small boat she weighted it down with loose rocks and hid herself close to the entrance of the shrine.

She waited there in the shrubbery patiently, hyperaware of every sound that she heard. It wasn't long before Avatar Korra appeared at the top of the steps. Karin watched as Korra scanned the immediate area and part of Karin wanted to jump out of the bushes to warn her, while the other half wanted to scold her for her half-hearted surveillance and her decision to actually carry out this plan.

_Clearly the Avatar is not used to having people against her. _Karin shook her head and wondered why no one had trained the Avatar for situations like this. At the White Lotus compound children as young as eight knew how to properly canvas an area so as to not be surprised by an enemy. Karin could not believe that the Avatar would put herself in this type of situation without that type of knowledge and training and why no one had taught it to her in the first place.

_I know that we're in peace time, but peace doesn't last forever! The Order of the White Lotus knows that. If they are training members to be prepared for times of war, then why aren't they training the Avatar as well?_ She watched as Korra stretched her arms over her head before striding confidently into the pavilion.

Does she really believe that Amon will not rise to the challenge or is she so confident in her abilities that she thinks she can defeat him? Karin thought to herself and prayed silently to Tui and La for the strength and courage to do what was necessary if the Avatar's life became jeopardized.

She felt a rock form in her stomach as the Avatar disappeared among the shadows and it seemed to gain more weight as time slowly ticked by.

It seemed like forever before the clock struck midnight, and Karin had to contain a shriek, though she thought she a heard one come down from where Korra had taken up her watch for Amon.

The clock rang twelve and nothing happened. It was quite some time before Karin saw Korra coming down from the pavilion roof and her body tensed with apprehension. _If Amon is truly going to ambush her he will have to do it soon or risk losing the chance._

Just as Karin finished this thought, she watched as Korra was seized by a rope thrown from inside the shrine and dragged into darkness. A flash of light lit up the entrance and Karin jumped out of the shrub she was hiding in and made her way to the entrance.

She looked inside briefly to see Korra throwing another blast of fire around the room. At least fifteen equalists surrounded her and they quickly tied both of her arms.

They must have forgotten about her legs because Korra sent out a high and wide kick that moved the earth beneath the feet of the equalists in front of her, knocking them to the ground.

Five of the ones behind her crept up.

Two jabbed the pressure points along Korra's back and she fell with a grunt of pain and surprise.

They circled around the Avatar as she struggled on the floor, her bonds now loose.

Karin wanted to jump into the fray and protect Korra, but knew that she would not be able to fend off the number of equalists present as well as Amon. She told herself that if Amon made a move to take the Avatar's bending or her life that she would step in and fight them off as best as she could so that Korra could get away.

She readied herself mentally from the possibility and popped open the top of two jugs of water that she had strapped to her belt. She could always bend the ocean if it was necessary, but it could take precious time for the water to reach her. It was best to have some on her person if it came down to that.

She peaked her head back around the corner of the door frame and quickly shrunk back when she saw Amon emerge from the shadows at the back of the shrine. She heard Korra gasp and hoped that Amon had not noticed her, but believed that he was so focused on the Avatar that he would not have seen her. She looked inside once again to find the room lit lightly in the center and Korra being dragged up by the arms to face Amon.

"I received your invitation, young Avatar." He told Korra in his gravelly voice.

He reached down towards Korra and Karin, knowing that this was probably the time to act began to bend the water out of the jugs at her side.

Korra turned her head away from Amon's encroaching hand and just as Karin was about to spring from her hiding spot he did something strange.

Instead of taking the stance that he had used at the Revelation, he grabbed Korra's cheek and forced her to look him in the eye.

"Our showdown, while inevitable, is premature. Although it would be the simplest thing for me to take away your bending right now, I won't. You'd only become a martyr. Benders of every nation would rally behind your untimely demise." Karin could see Korra tense in anger as she stared up at Amon. She, again, got ready to reveal her presence and set the Avatar free, but found that she was rooted to the spot in fear.

"But I assure you, I have a plan. And I am saving you for last. Then you'll get your duel and I will destroy you." She watched Korra as she began to tremble before Amon as he slowly stood up.

He made a decisive strike to the pressure point between Korra's shoulder and neck, and she fell to the ground unconscious.

As she landed, her eyes stared right at the pavilion door where Karin was standing and Karin quickly darted back behind the column.

She heard the Equalists talking to each other as they made their way to the door.

Karin quickly bended the water back into the jugs and placed the cork back in the top. She silently moved back to her refuge in the trees as they left the pavilion.

Amon was in the lead and walked as if he owned the world. Karin felt anger boil up under her breast as she watched him walk down the steps toward the dock.

It was one thing for the Avatar to be a bit arrogant, but Karin could not understand why Amon felt so entitled. As far as she knew he was a nobody. _What makes him think that he is above us all? _Karin decided then that she would take no greater pleasure than to watch him fall from his pedestal.

Once she was sure that all of the Equalists had left, Karin crept out of her hiding spot and went inside the pavilion.

Korra still lay on her side, unconscious, her eyes moving swiftly behind her lids and her mouth moving slightly as she muttered unintelligible words.

Karin popped open one of the jugs, allowing some of the water to encase her hand in a light blue glow. She had been taught the art of healing while at the compound, as had every waterbender, and though she knew she could not heal Korra, it would at least tell her what chi had been blocked.

Once she knew the spot, she began to massage the area gently and gave a light jab to unblock the area. It would still take Korra a bit of time to awaken, but it would not take as long or be as painful after Karin's help.

She stood up and looked down at Avatar Korra with a silent apology. _I should have helped you, but I was too worried about my own skin to even make an attempt. I let fear get the better of me, but I will do better next time._ She bowed respectfully before making her way out of the pavilion.

"Who are you?" A voice asked her as she emerged and she cursed herself for not checking to see if the outside of the pavilion was clear before leaving.

She turned her back to Councilman Tenzin, hoping that he had not seen her face clearly enough to remember her.

"Who I am does not matter. Just know that I am here to protect her and to help you." She replied, attempting to lower her voice an octave in order to disguise it. "Do not try to find me, and do not try to figure out who I am. I am but a humble observer."

She could hear his feet slap against the stones as he made his way towards her and she launched herself into the shrubbery.

"Come back!" She heard him yell as she made her way towards her hidden boat.

She unloaded the rocks and bended the water out of the boat, thanking Tui and La that the right amount of water had entered the empty husk so that it had not sunken.

She used her bending discreetly to get herself back to the docks quickly enough that Tenzin could not find her once he had attended to Korra.

Once she made it safely to shore, she made her way back to Narook's with a heavy feeling of disappointment weighing down her heart.

* * *

I hope that you all enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Reviews are always welcome and are greatly appreciated. Have a wonderful weekend!

-ClassicCrime


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